French president: Fashion designer Sonia Rykiel dies at 86

Sonia Rykiel poses backstage after the Sonia Rykiel Ready to Wear show as part of the Paris Womenswear Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2011 at Halle Freyssinet on March 7, 2010 in Paris, France.(Photo: Richard Bord)

Born in Paris in May 1930, Rykiel opened her first ready-to-wear shop on the city's Left Bank in 1968 and her early clients included Brigitte Bardot, Catherine Deneuve and Audrey Hepburn, according to Vogue.

In 2009, she was awarded the Légion d'Honneur, France's highest honor, to recognize her 40 years of service in the fashion industry.

In 2012, Rykiel revealed in the book N'oubliez Pas Que Je Joue (Don't Forget It's A Game) that she had suffered from Parkinson's disease for 15 years.

There was no immediate comment from the Sonia Rykiel fashion house in Paris.